U.S. should pursue goal of energy independence

Miami Herald: Gone are the days when the United States could rely comfortably on Saudi Arabia to provide petroleum for the world and for the U.S. market regardless of the political culture in that closed society. That is a sobering lesson to be drawn from the frightening attack in Khobar that targeted Western workers and claimed at least 22 lives.
Another lesson is that you reap what you sow. The hatred for everything non-Islamic preached for decades in the state-supported Saudi religious schools is having a boomerang effect, and the world's oil supply hangs in the balance.
For now, oil continues to flow without interruption, but there is ample reason for markets to remain jittery. Terrorists have struck twice in one month. They understand that the Saudi kingdom is the choke point for the global oil supply -- it holds 26 percent of the world's proved reserves. More attacks are sure to be attempted.
Can't count on Saudi oil
These events strengthen the argument for making energy independence a U.S. priority. To continue blind reliance on Saudi Arabia and its satellite emirates is a head-in-the-sand approach to an issue that is critically important to America's economic well-being.
Meanwhile, Saudi efforts to modernize the kingdom and isolate the extremists must be encouraged. The Saudis, to their credit, have started on this road already. The country's first municipal elections were promised for this year. Last year, rulers permitted the first-ever visit by an independent human-rights group. Civil liberties remain restricted, but a number of tentative moves have been made in recent years to increase press freedom.
These are promising steps. The question is whether change can arrive in time to avoid disaster. Bolstering oil-field security is fine, but true security lies in creating a more-modern Saudi Arabia.